Increased enrollment is generally a good thing for Baylor
— unless you have to live in the residence halls.
In fact, the increased enrollment means Baylor had to enact extended occupancy conditions in the traditional residence halls
this year. In English, that’s called overcrowding.
Community leaders, who typically do not have roommates, receive freshman roomies, and some students are placed in converted study rooms in which bedroom furniture has been placed.
Living with a community leader wouldn’t affect the average student much. They still live in a traditional dorm room with a single roommate. But according to the Campus Living and Learning
website, four to six students may be placed together in temporary
rooms in the halls. It is Baylor policy that all incoming freshmen must live on campus for their first year, with few exceptions. Students whose immediate family live in the area
and have an established residence of more than three months, married students, and incoming freshmen over the age of 21 are not required to live in the dorms.
The rules don’t provide much wiggle room. Freshmen placed in temporary housing have no recourse until they can be moved into
traditional rooms, if they can be moved at all. In short, these students are required to live on campus
– whether there is room for them or not. These freshmen, placed in study rooms in the traditional residence halls, are charged the same housing rate as those who are placed in a normal room and
share a community bathroom, despite the fact that their rooms may not include the same amenities, such as an equal amount of closet space as the rest of the hall.
That rate is $2,482 per student, per semester, or $9,928 total for a double- occupancy, c ommu n i t y bathroom room for the 2012-2013 school year. The total cost of a temporary room for
four students for the school year is $19,856. The cost of a temporary housing room is much higher because more students are living in one room and paying the same flat
rate.
